Watson and the Shark

Watson and the Shark ( original English Title: Watson and the shark ) is a painting by the British-American painter John Singleton Copley. It originated in three very similar versions 1778-1782, which are now exhibited in three museums in the United States of America.

Image description

The painting shows against the backdrop of a port a shark attack in the sea. Here, in the foreground a man drifting in the water is attacked by a large, decorated in gray shark, right leg is already torn down below the knee. In a boat, which comes to the man to help, nine men, two of whom want to help the injured person to the boat floating in the water are while another throws him a rope and a third with a boat hook engages the shark. The remaining sailors sit at the helm and view the scene with horrified eyes.

The background of the image is formed by a harbor with several large sailing ships. The harbor buildings are shown only indistinctly to two large, crowned with crosses towers. These in turn are in the midst of several ship masts of the ships present, none, however, to recognize by name.

Image versions

The earliest version of the image dates from 1778 and is now owned by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC In the same year Copley painted another version of the image that can be viewed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today. The two versions of the image from 1778 differ very little from each other, such as the shape of the nose of the shark pits, shafts or similar details.

The later version from 1782 has a different format and is much smaller. In contrast to the two previous versions, the picture was taken in portrait mode, which heaven has been given more space in particular. Especially this sky is darker also designed to emphasize the threat in the scene.

Background and interpretation

The picture was commissioned Copley, the client was the businessman Brook Watson. This was attacked in early years as a 13 -year-old cabin boy in the port of Havana ( Cuba) by a shark and rescued by his companions. Watson survived and lost in the attack of the right lower leg, so had to wear a prosthesis. He was a businessman and brought it to great reputation as a banker and politician. In 1796 he spent a year as Lord Mayor of London, and later he led the Bank of England.

John Singleton Copley was known and successful as a portrait painter in Boston; Watson and the shark turned its first major order as a history painter dar. In contrast to well-established history painting but should here be represented neither a biblical or ancient history, or an epic, but a real incident, in which the heroes were just ordinary people. Benjamin West had already been solved with his painting The Death of General Wolfe, the history of the reception of antiquity Genre, Copley step went with the choice of subject but appropriately.